Glutathione transferase isozyme genotypes in patients with prostate and bladder carcinoma

Genotype distributions for GSTP1, GSTM1, and GSTT1 were determined in 91 pa tients with prostatic carcinoma and 135 patients with bladder carcinoma and compared with those in 127 abdominal surgery patients without malignancies . None of the genotypes differed significantly with respect to age or sex a mong controls or cancer patients. In the group of prostatic carcinoma patie nts, GSTT1 null allele homozygotes were more prevalent (25% in carcinoma pa tients vs 13% in controls, Fisher P = 0.02, chi (2) P = 0.02, OR = 2.31, CI = 1.17-4.59) and the combined M1-/T1-null genotype was also more frequent (9% vs 3%, chi (2) P = 0.02, Fisher P = 0.03). Homozygosity for the GSTM1 n ull allele was more frequent among bladder carcinoma patients (59% in bladd er carcinoma patients vs 45% in controls, Fisher P = 0.03, chi (2) P = 0.02 , OR = 1.76, CI = 1.08-2.88). In contrast to a previous report, no signific ant increase in the frequency of the GSTP1b allele was found in the tumor p atients. Except for the combined GSTM1-/T1-null genotype in prostatic carci noma, none of the combined genotypes showed a significant association with either of the cancers. These findings suggest that specific single polymorp hic GST genes, that is GSTM1 in the case of bladder cancer and GSTT1 in the case of prostatic carcinoma, are most relevant for the development of thes e urological malignancies among the general population in Central Europe.